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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24578089">Cat's-Eye</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeistyParadox/pseuds/FeistyParadox'>FeistyParadox</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, High School, Humor, M/M, male reader - Freeform, neko reader - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:54:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,324</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24578089</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeistyParadox/pseuds/FeistyParadox</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>On the streets and one the run, life has proven to be rather difficult. That was until the events of one fateful night of coincidences lead you to the prince of monsters himself. What could the future possibly hold from this point onward?</p><p>The once Wattpad exclusive story, now on AO3 in it's reworked glory</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Asriel Dreemurr/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Mightiest Salmon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was yet another, regular day like the many ones that came before it. You were currently sitting by the pond of a local park, observantly staring at the glistening surface for any detectable motion underneath it.</p><p>At first glance it was easy to mistake you for nothing more than the average human teenage boy, anywhere between sixteen and seventeen of age. But anyone that decided to look even slightly past the superficial would easily see that you were everything other than ordinary. So, realistically speaking, you really had nothing to worry about.</p><p>Truth is, you weren’t exactly human. Kind of but also not really. A pair of feline ears, color matching that of your hair, were currently lying flat against your head. Your eyes weren’t quite normal either, with their slit pupils and a fancy glow in the dark effect. And then there were those retractable claws. Perfect for fighting, scratching up things, filleting fish and getting that itchy spot on your back. And who could forget that tail you currently had crammed in your pants? Yes. You were, what many would consider, a Neko. Because some shmuck thought it would be a great idea to combine the DNA of a cat with that of a human.</p><p>Spotting nothing of interest in the lake, you decided to let your eyes wander around a little. Yep, you’re still in a park, with humans and monsters doing what one would normally do at a park. Running laps, playing with their dogs and children, or maybe even have a picnic.</p><p>This park was the place where you spend most of your time. You didn’t really know why, especially with how many people frequent this place. Probably a hiding in plain sight kind of thing.</p><p>That reminded you. With the sun slowly setting, setting the sky ablaze with various fiery shades while dousing the world below in twilight, it was probably time to get some food. The hunger you were feeling was starting to grow unbearable again.</p><p>Fortunately for you, the surrounding area was littered with grocery stores and fast-food joints. You weren’t going to go around and beg for food though, not even for the stuff that was written off. Not because you were too proud for that but rather because you already knew you weren’t going to get anything. There was no way people around here would give you anything other than a beating if you asked for food. And if they started attacking you there would be one hell of a commotion you would much rather avoid.</p><p>That meant that there was only one thing for you to do. You wouldn’t call it stealing, but much rather an unauthorized transfer of ownership. Doesn’t mean it’s not stealing, it totally is, you just didn’t really like to use that word. Always had those negative connotations attached to it.</p><p>A couple minutes of wandering around later and you spotted the perfect opportunity. While passing by one of those really expensive, premium quality grocery stores, you noticed that they had their delivery entrance wide open. A couple employees were sitting outside having a small chat over a smoke break.</p><p>That was a bit of a problem. You could probably sneak past one of them, but three? No, you had to wait it out. How long could their break possibly be anyway?</p><p>Well, time to eavesdrop on their conversation. Might be something amusing, like that one time you learned that Jeremy cheated on his girlfriend Sarah with her brother Jack.</p><p>“Have you guys heard?” one of them began, sounding like he was about to recite the greatest tale ever told, hoping he could garner the attention of his co-workers. “People say there’s been some really weird kid running around town lately. Cat ears on his head, weird glowy eyes. The whole shebang.”</p><p>“Yeah, of course. Next thing you’re gonna tell me is the kid’s the goddamn messiah,” another employee laughed, mocking her colleague with biting sarcasm. “Fuck off mate, you’re off your rocker.”</p><p>“C’mon Kate, I know Alex is an asshole that’s full of shit most of the times, but he’s got a point this time. My roommate says he saw the damn kid at the nearby park. Ears, glowy eyes and all,” the third employee defended his colleague. “I wouldn’t worry about that kid too much though. Probably just some weeb kid with a couple loose screws. I’d stay away from that kid. Wouldn’t want to get the rabies.”</p><p>Yep, those three are quite the lovely individuals. You definitely won’t feel sorry for them if they get punished for not noticing your surprise transfer of ownership.</p><p>“Well, gotta go. Can’t let that bitch of a manager notice that I’m taking a smoke break even though I’m supposed to run around in the store, pretending to be busy. Wouldn’t want our asshole customers to be without someone they can bother with their shit,” with that, this Alex guy decided to toss his smoke off the ramp and return to work, but quickly noticed that someone was standing behind him. You couldn’t see their expression but you were pretty sure they were quite angry.</p><p>“Is there something you would like to tell me, Mr. Sutton?” yep, the tone in their voice said it all. It was the manager, and she was about to can someone.</p><p>“Ah fuck, I’m already screwed so I might as well say it,” Alex straightened up, looking the manager square in the eyes. “You’re a bitch,” just to really drive home his point, he pointed a finger at his manager.</p><p>“I can respect the fact you stand by what you said,” the manager’s voice sounded cold and uncaring, seemingly at the point where she was just one, small inconvenience away from commit first degree murder. “Please hand over your uniform and authorization card and retrieve your items from the employee lounge.”</p><p>There was a moment of deathly silence.</p><p>“Ms. Mann, I would highly recommend you return to work. Of course the time you spend here will be deducted from your actual break,” well, Alex got one thing right. The manager WAS a bitch. Clearly didn’t care about the employees at all. What’s a five minute smoke break anyway? “And Mr. Reid. If I don't see you back at the register in 5 minutes tops, I better not see you here ever again.”</p><p>With that, the small group of employees cleared up and went back to work. Except for Alex. He got axed for being a dumbass.</p><p>The coast was clear, time to make your move.</p><p>Making use of your all your feline abilities, you snuck up the empty ramp and into the dark warehouse, then quickly hid behind a europallet stacked with products. To your own surprise, no lights turned on. Usually, warehouses like this have motion sensors, but it seemed the store didn’t have the money for this type of advanced technology and used cheap lightbulbs instead.</p><p>Sitting in, what was mostly darkness paired with a light show of flickering lamps, you began sniffing the air. Somewhere around here was something, and it smelled absolutely delightful. But the damn place was packed full with palettes and cooling containers. On top of that, it was a disorganized mess. Nothing out of the ordinary here, really.</p><p>You were about to slip out of hiding when you could hear someone push through the swinging door with heavy footsteps. However it was, sounded quite pissed, judging by their angry mumbling.</p><p>“Stupid bitch of a manger telling me to replace the damn lightbulbs. I didn’t go to through 3 years of training for this shit,” some very disgruntled worker entered the warehouse. “Now where is this damn ladder she talked about?”</p><p>Seems like you were going to be here for a while after all. Well, better make the best of it and try to track down that smell. So you closed your eyes and focused as hard as your empty stomach allowed. It smelled like fish, fresh fish and it was nearby. Perhaps…</p><p>*Bang*</p><p>You flinched at the sound of a loud pop followed by glass hitting the floor. It appears another light decided that illuminating this particular dark space was an unfulfilling existence.</p><p>“For FUCKS sake. That’s the seventh one this week, and it’s FUCKING Wednesday,” another rant from the underpaid worker. “Can’t wait for the day they either renovate or tear down this damn place.”</p><p>As charming as this guy was, you needed to grab some food and get out of here ASAP. Else you might end up as fresh meat on the meat counter.</p><p>You were pretty confidant about where the smell came from by now. You just had to recover the goods now. So you decided to peek from around your palette stacked with pet food and were promptly blinded by a flashlight.</p><p>“HOLY FUCK!” a startled scream, followed by the sound of a ladder tipping over and a sack of meat hitting the ground. Yep, Mr. Charming fell of the ladder. “NOPE. FUCK. THIS. SHIT. I’m not getting payed anywhere near enough for dealing with asshole customers, changing lights AND taking care of oversized vermin. I’m out.”</p><p>Well, seems like you accidentally made some guy quit his job, after nearly scaring him to death. Literally. Not that that’s your problem. It’s the manager’s fault for hiring staff like that while also providing ladders that have no stable footing. And the cheap lights? Blame corporate. Though, an employee falling of a ladder and cracking his head like an egg would probably get this place shut down. Not that that would be any of your concern.</p><p>Tracking down the unmistakable scent of fish again, you opened the container that you determined to be the source of the smell. And there you saw it. The most glorious thing that has ever crossed your eyes. Chinook salmon, and what an absolutely beautiful specimen it was. 60 inches long and 131 pounds heavy, truly the mightiest of all Salmons. Leagues above average and probably really expensive. You were going to dine like a king tonight.</p><p>You immediately scooped up the giant of a fish and made a run for it, or rather as fast as you could move with a such a monster in your arms. It was immensely difficult, considering how big and heavy your new possession was but you were going to make it, somehow. Maybe.  Only problem, there was no way to hide a thing as huge as this. So you just had to act like you legally owned it and make your way back to your not so secret hideout without raising too much suspicion.</p><p>With your catch of the day secured and in your arms, your mind began to wander elsewhere. How were you gong to prepare it? Not that you really had much of a choice. Eating it raw was the only option you had. You didn’t even have any seasoning. Not that it really bothered you. Raw salmon, at least in your opinion, was awesome. Sure, some say it could be dangerous, but your body was specifically designed to handle things like parasites or bacterial infections. You still shudder whenever you thought about those tests they did to confirm everything was working as intended.</p><p>Back on the main street you began to hurry back to your lair, cradling the biggest fish you have ever seen like it was a delicate newborn. The sun has clocked out for the day by now and let the moon take over the night shift. But no stars would illuminate the grayish night sky. The lights of the city were simply too plentiful, keeping the city bright as day and the sky above a smokey gray.</p><p>Finally back at the park you quickly hid in the bushes again, unsheathing your claws to make the first cut so you can properly filet your fish, unbothered by the inarticulate shouting and intoxicated singing of drunks mixed with the constant blaring of sirens. Such was the nightlife around these parts. Among the cacophony of noises that was the melody of nightlife, however, one sound managed to stick out in particular.</p><p>“You sure that brat’s ‘round here?” a rather rough voice began to grate at your ears, a voice you felt like you recognized.</p><p>“Keep your voice down you brain dead moron,” another voice, cold and cruel, whispered. “Kid will hear you three blocks over if you keep shouting like that.”</p><p>“So what? We know where he is. Kitten’s got nowhere to run now,” it was clear now. Kaiser’s goons where still after you ever since your escape 6 years ago and it seemed they found you. They were dangerous and found you at your most vulnerable. This was bad, terrible even.</p><p>“I’m working with an imbecile,” you could hear it in his voice, the second guy was not happy with his partner's approach. “That ‘Kitten’ went through several courses, including A.D.P, knows at least some magic and is extremely dangerous. Street life probably turned this kitten into a vicious tiger.”</p><p>“The fuck’s the A.D.P?” you could only roll your eyes as you heard that question. This goon had no idea what he was in for.</p><p>You could hear the other goon say something in a language you didn’t understand before switching back to English, his patience strained to limit: “To give you the short of it. Don’t try to fight our little kitten. You won’t make it out alive, much less in one piece” the voices came closer, so much so they felt like they were now right in front of you.</p><p>And here you were, thinking you could have had a peaceful dinner under the non-existent moonlight. You really didn’t want to get your hands dirty, especially since blood made for a terrible sauce to go along with salmon. Way too metallic.</p><p>This was not the time for panic, even though you were in serious danger. It was true, you were more than capable of defending yourself, if it wasn’t for the fact you hadn’t had a proper meal in days and slept in the bushes. But even if the hunger made you feel weak, you would still put up a fight if you had to. When you had the choice between death and going back to where you came from, death would be the preferable option.</p><p>For a moment, the world around you grew silent and time felt as if came to a halt. The leaves you were hiding behind began to rustle and parted soon after, revealing the visage of one of the goons that were after you in all it’s hideous glory. It was in this split second moment, you grabbed your salmon and smacked it’s tail fin across your assailants face with a very audible smack, leaving a very visible mark. Then you ran. You ran in whatever direction you were looking, as fast as your legs could carry you and your salmon.</p><p>“GET HIM!” the guy you just smacked shouted after you as he began running, second goon following close behind.</p><p>You just kept running without looking back, oblivious to your surroundings and how they began to change. With those two hot on your heels, there was no time to admire the change of scenery. This was the point in time where you needed a plan, a damn good plan. And you felt as if you already had one. Your salmon has already delivered a painful slap to one of the goons that were chasing you. Surely you could use it teach them a lesson they won’t forget any time soon.</p><p>So you gave it just a little more, run just a little faster to get just a little further ahead and fastened your grip on your marine weapon on mass destruction. Then, you abruptly stopped, turned around on your heel and planted both of your feet on the ground in a firm stance, almost like a batter ready to hit a home run. As soon as the goons where within range, you swung with the unbridled force of the seven seas and delivered a tidal wave of pain to one of them.</p><p>A cannon shot of a smack echoed through the otherwise quiet neighborhood and the unlucky fool sunk to the ground like a ship, leaving the other one frozen in place with terror. With one down, you ran again only to do another quick spin and vanish in a flash of light only to reappear in a tree you’ve spotted earlier. Short ranged teleportation, an awesome ability you all too often forgot you had. Not that it really mattered, since you couldn't chain together multiple teleports in short succession.</p><p>“Where the HELL did that kid go?” the guy you hit was furious and rightfully so.</p><p>“You’re bleeding,” the other goon spoke in an almost concerned, but still dumb as a box of rocks tone.</p><p>“I’d FUCKING think so. I have no damn clue what sort of monster fish that kid’s running around with, but it’s a miracle he didn’t crush my skull with it,” you watched how the guy got up, the right half of his face ravaged by the impact with your salmon.</p><p>Speaking of salmon. Despite the abuse you put the poor thing through, it was still in pristine condition. Still in one piece and not even a single speck of blood on it. Hell, it even had all of it's scales on it.</p><p>“You know what? Fuck it. Kid’s not worth the trouble. Tell Kaiser the fucking brat’s dead, ran over by a car and smeared across the asphalt,” more talking from the goon you smacked across the face, though it seems pain was slowly starting to set in. “Fucking hell. Talking hurts like shit.”</p><p>Finally, you could watch your pursuers leave, giving you a much needed chance to breathe and take a look at the street you were on. It appears you ended up in the city’s more upscale part. Fancy houses, expensive cars and beautiful gardens all around. Not that it really mattered now. You were hungry and you had a delicious looking salmon in your hands. Once again you unsheathed your claws, ready to make the first cut. But it seems trouble was constantly after you, and so you found yourself interrupted once again. This time, by a threateningly loud cracking noise.</p><p>You sighed heavily and clutched your salmon to your chests, fully aware of what was coming next.</p><p>The branch you were sitting on snapped and took you along on it’s descend downwards, causing you to land on your butt rather unpleasantly while also nearly crushing your tail. Tears immediately shot into your eyes and you nearly had to bite your tongue to suppress the urge to cry out in pain. Landing on your butt was one of the worst feelings imaginable.</p><p>Slowly recovering from the stunning pain, you looked around. The first thing you noticed was your salmon, now lying in the dirt right in front of you. You immediately scooped it back up. This damn thing has become sacred to you. Not sacred enough that you weren’t going to eat it, but sacred nonetheless.</p><p>Second thing you realized was that you were sitting in front of a luxurious looking mansion at least 3 stories high. Whoever was living here was either really wealthy or really influential. Probably both, since those two tend to go hand in hand. Not that it mattered to you. Seeing that the whole place appeared to be fenced in and you were seemingly alone, you finally had a chance to take the first bite out of your glorious fish.</p><p>“What was that?” a voice, concerned and perhaps slightly scared, came from the darkness further ahead. Of course you wouldn’t be alone. Why would you ever be alone, especially when you just want to eat your damn fish in the garden of some huge mansion.</p><p>At this point, you were reciting every single expletive you’ve picked up in your life under hushed breaths. This was just bullshit. Why can’t a cat-boy eat his fish in peace?</p><p>You decided to look up in an attempt to see who was approaching you and were quickly greeted with a girlish scream that made your sensitive ears ring and sting with pain. Those damn glow in the dark eyes really were more of a curse most of the time. Sure, you could see in the dark almost perfectly, but what does it help if other people can spot your eyes form a mile away? Not that you had the time to get upset about your eyes. A fireball was flying in your direction and you only narrowly manged to jump out of the way.</p><p>This was it, you were officially pissed now. Royally so. Your ears shot up in an instant, tail twitching violently in the confined space that where your pants as you began to hiss angrily at whoever tossed a ball of burning death in your direction.</p><p>“Oh my gosh,” the owner of that voice sounded terribly guilty all of a sudden and began rushing towards you. “I can’t believe I nearly toasted a…” a moment of pause as the figure stopped right in front of you. “You’re… not a cat. Well, kind of but also not really.”</p><p>Great. Just wonderful. Absolutely splendid. You had no idea what god you pissed off, but you somehow found yourself face to face with Asriel Dreemurr, the third most important monster on the whole damn planet. Through some bizarre twist of fate, you found yourself at the Dreemurr residence.</p><p>“Meow,” you looked at the monster with wide eyes, hoping your spot-on impression of an adorable cat would convince him that you were, indeed, a cat. Judging by the look on his face, your attempt was met with no success.</p><p>Time to deploy plan B. Charming smile, head tilted to the side slightly and big, innocent eyes. “Please don’t kill me,” and your smile crumbled away almost instantly, voice cracking and eyes starting to tear up. Not charming at all, not in the slightest. Rather pathetic, really.</p><p>Asriel tilted his head in confusion, a baffled expression taking over his face: “Why would I do that. You don’t seem dangerous to me… on the other hand though…” you did not like how vague Asriel remained about that last part, not one bit. What you liked even less were all the possible ways this could end up that your brain decided to conjure up. Curse you, monkey brain. Why must you always assume the worst?</p><p>Finally a moment of silence, a moment for you to process just what exactly happened.</p><p>Or maybe the not. The front door flung open and a very displeased looking mother stomped out.</p><p>“Asriel Dreemurr!” she called out her son by his full name, a classic sign of a mother that was very angry at her child. “What are you doing outside this late?”</p><p>Asriel looked at you with an awkward expression, scratching the back of this head. “Well, at least I won’t die alone tonight,” he chuckled awkwardly while you just gave him a confused look. Why did he have to bring that up? Dying was the last thing you wanted to do today.</p><p>“What did I tell you about talking to strangers? Especially at this hour,” the queen stomped closer, ranting along the way.</p><p>“Well, I couldn’t really sleep so I decided to put my pajamas back on and went outside for some stargazing until I felt like I could go back to sleep. Some time later I heard a lot of noise coming from the streets. Then I heard a loud snapping sound, followed by even more noise,” Asriel began to quickly explain, fiddling with his fingers while he avoided his mother’s angry expression. “I saw a pair of glowing eyes and got scared. So I shot a fireball in their direction in a heat of the moment reaction.”</p><p>He paused and took a deep breath, then pointed at the scorch mark on the tree you sat in only moments ago.</p><p>“I heard loud a loud hiss and got so scared I might’ve seriously hurt a cat. When I came closer,” Asriel pointed his finger at you. “I saw this guy sitting on the ground.”</p><p>“And who might you be?” And more importantly. What are you doing here?” there was a scowl on the mother’s face, one that scared you even more than Kaiser's goons.</p><p>“I’m ____. I had some people chase me and, while running away from them, I sort of ended up here,” you gave a very rough overview of your current situation and stood up, extending one hand for a friendly handshake while the other held onto your fish.</p><p>Your kind gesture was shot down by a stern glare.</p><p>“What is that?” still wary of you, the mother pointed at the salmon you were holding. “And where did you get it?”</p><p>“Oh, that? Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, or Chinook salmon,” you replied, hoping you could deescalate this situation. “I got it from a grocery store.”</p><p>“I’m calling the police,” all hope drain from your face the moment Asriel’s mother finished her sentence. If you got arrested you’d be done for. They would track down where you came from and from there on it would be impossible to tell what would happen next.</p><p>“You can’t do this, mom,” Asriel protested vocally, probably because he saw the desperation on your face. “Just look at him. Dirty, ragged clothes, messy hair, hungry and tired. He needs help and we can help him.”</p><p>As if on cue, fatigue hit you like a hammer and your knees began to get a little wobbly, nearly causing you to fall over as you  body began to feel heavy with drowsiness.</p><p>“See. He can barely stay on his feet,” for some reason, Asriel was trying really hard to convince his mother to let you stay for the night. Even if that included appealing to Toriel's moral consciousness</p><p>A short moment of dreadful silence passed and Toriel sighed, then spoke up again: “Fine, he can stay for the night. We’ll see about everything else tomorrow.”</p><p>“Really?” Asriel exclaimed excitedly, giving his mother a big hug. “You’re the best, mom.”</p><p>Toriel returned the hug, her stern expression softening into a motherly smile.</p><p>“You’re still grounded for the rest of the month,” despite her motherly love, she still remained stern with her son.</p><p>“Nawwww,” Asriel made a sound of displeasure.</p><p>You just stood there, confused, salmon in hand. Did you finally find a home or would you be back on the streets tomorrow? Would you finally be safe? Was the daily struggle over? So many question and no answers.</p><p>While you were trying to find at least some answers, Asriel grabbed you by your hand and not only dragged you towards the mansion’s entrance but also out of your thoughts. Not that you really noticed any of it. Thinking became difficult as your brain slowly switched to sleep mode. By the time you slowly began to realize what was happening, you were already inside a room, sitting on a bed.</p><p>“Hey, you’re still there?” a concerned voice spoke while a furry hand, or maybe it was a paw, was waving in front of your face.</p><p>“Huh?” visibly confused, and more than just a little dazed from pretty much everything, you just gave Asriel a wide eyed look. “Uhm, yeah. Kind of,” your gaze wandered off to the side, head feeling almost too heavy to keep up.</p><p>“Here. I don't know how long you've been without it, but you look like you could use some water” the monster handed you a bottle of water, which you emptied in one go, earning a chuckle from Asriel.</p><p>Another moment of silence in which you nearly dozed off multiple times, before Asriel spoke up again, sounding rather inquisitive: “I know you’re really tired, but I do have to ask you. What’s up with that fish you’re holding on to?”</p><p>“Oh, that…” you felt as if your mind was slowly being clouded in thick fog, barely able to comprehend what Asriel asked you. “I… was meaning to eat… that.”</p><p>“You stole it, didn’t you?” despite the nature of the question, Asriel didn’t sound like he was accusing you.</p><p>“Didn’t steal… it,” struggling to keep your head up, you manage to string together a few words that hopefully made sense. “Unauthorized transfer of ow… ner… ship,” seconds began to feel like hours the more you forced yourself to stay awake, barely able to keep up this conversation.</p><p>Asriel accepted your answer and simply nodded in response, ears wiggling slightly in the process.</p><p>“Sorry for keeping you awake. You must be really tired,” at this point you could barely even hear what Asriel was saying. Everything began to sound so dull and distant. “You can sleep in Frisk’s bed for the time being. I’ll take that fish of yours downstairs and wake you up for breakfast tomorrow.”</p><p>There was a faint sensation of something, being taken out of your hand and you could vaguely recognize a silhouette move out of the room. The only thing you saw was your hand, weakly reaching towards your beloved fish as if to reclaim it, while you began to fall backwards, head landing on a pillow. You didn't know whether you were still awake or already sleeping, but you could've sworn you saw your salmon shed a tear.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A New Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A soft breeze was dancing through the air, carrying with it a gentle warmth. Not a single cloud was hanging in the infinite azure of the sky. You found yourself sitting in the middle of a clearing surrounded by a lush, green forest. That was weird, since you were quite sure you were supposed to be inside a mansion. What made everything even more weird was the fact that there was a huge table in front of you, stacked sky high with all the food you could possibly imagine, the gargantuan mountain casting it’s shadow down on you and the world around you.</p>
<p>Was all of this for you? A gift from the gods, perhaps? Did some otherworldly being decide to have some mercy on you? Did any of that even matter? There was enough food to feed an entire city. Steak, pork chop, chicken, and even salmon. Those were just a tiny section of what was on the table, besides the vast selection of salads and fruits. But who needs greens when you have meat?</p>
<p>Was it even possible for you to eat all of this by yourself? No. Is that going to stop you from trying? Also no.</p>
<p>You were right about to jump head first towards the ginormous pile of food when the entire world began to shake violently, an infernal noise booming from the sky above. Trees began to tremble and snap in half as every single bone in your body felt like it began vibrating. Almost out of instinct, you began to curl up into a ball, covering your ears with your hands.</p>
<p>Then came the silence. </p>
<p>The noise stopped as suddenly as it came, but the once beautiful forest was completely destroyed. But that was, by far not the worst. You didn’t want to believe your eyes when you saw the heap of food sway back and forth, ready to collapse at any moment. What the hell happened just now? Well, not that it really mattered. It was over, and you could return to your feast.</p>
<p>Once again you were about to dig into your meal when the noise returned again, louder but also... clearer? It was as if something was calling? You couldn’t understand anything but it clearly was a voice. </p>
<p>Feeling terrified you dove underneath the table to take cover, hoping you could just sit out whatever was happening. Not long after, the pile above you began to fall apart and collapse in a booming avalanche of food; the table you were hiding under now buried underneath an unimaginable amount of food. </p>
<p>You were trapped in darkness, buried alive in food while the world was still being shaken by the sound of what you could only describe as the gates to hell opening. It almost felt as if reality itself was being split apart while the darkness around began to feel, different. Like it was closing in, ready to crush you. </p>
<p>One last time, the noise boomed from above you and in a state of sudden lucidity you could finally make out what it said: “WAKE UP ALREADY!”</p>
<p>Asriel was nearly screaming at you by now, shaking you by your shoulders to drag you back into the waking world.</p>
<p>“Nyaaaah~” you yawned, stretching your limbs as you woke up, looking as if you were innocence personified.</p>
<p>“Alright, that was adorable,” the prince spoke with a hint of admiration in his voice, causing a feeling of warmth to creep up on your cheeks. He just had to comment on the way you yawn, and it probably won’t be the last time either. It would definitely take some time to get used to those comments.</p>
<p>You shot a glare towards Asriel, hoping that he won’t see the blush that has manifested on your cheeks. Turns out, he hasn’t gotten around to putting his clothes on yet and was just standing by your bed in his boxers. Was that a surprise? No. Was it a welcome one? Depends on how you look at it.</p>
<p>“Well, your boxers are fairly cute too, you know? Rainbow gradient, stars,” you couldn’t just let his transgression against you slide, so you decided to fire back. Going for his choice of underwear probably wasn’t the best idea, but you never claimed to have good ideas in the first place. “And what’s it with that Star Blazing print?”</p>
<p>“HEY!” Asriel pouted, looking as if he was a little offended. “I designed them myself, you know?” he tried to look angry, which made him look more adorable than anything, until a sly grin settled on his face. “Or are you just saying those things because you’d rather see me without them?”</p>
<p>You gave him a deadpan expression in return, voice sounding flat: “To be honest, I’d rather see you wearing more clothes.”</p>
<p>“I think I’ve got some arm and leg warmers lying around somewhere,” feeling as if he had to get one over you, Asriel winked at you. What he didn’t notice was the hole he just dug for himself.</p>
<p>“You’re covered in fur. Why would you need them?” you kept your indifferent sounding tone, though you did raise an eyebrow. </p>
<p>“I… uhm… It’s… well… uhm… I…” The monster froze, his expression as if he’s been caught doing something seriously embarrassing as he began stumbling over his words like a fool. “I’m going to get dressed for breakfast.”</p>
<p>There was a moment of pause.</p>
<p>“Would you mind?” Asriel looked at you expectantly.</p>
<p>“Seriously? First you try flirting with me, and now you try to keep your modesty?” now you were sure Asriel was just kidding about that legwarmer stuff.</p>
<p>“You know, you’re pretty lucky to see me like this. A lot of people would kill to be in your position,” the caprine paused for moment, realizing what he just said. “That made me sound like a prick, didn’t it?”</p>
<p>“Yes, yes it did,” you simply confirmed his suspicion while Asriel was taking a look inside his wardrobe. </p>
<p>While the monster was busy picking out his clothes for the day, you kind of just stared at him since there really wasn’t much else to look at. Something about his appearance seemed, unusual. He had black lines running all over his otherwise snow white fur, sprawling across his back and along his limbs. Those streaks were a little unsettling at first, though they do give Asriel a rather unique look that compliments his physique. You had no idea why you were paying so much attention to that, but for some reason you did.</p>
<p>“Are you done eyeing me up?” the prince winked at you once again, the sly smile from earlier returning to his face. He kept his eyes on you, expecting a reaction.</p>
<p>You challenge his gaze, starting an unofficial staring contest and using the opportunity to study his face. His eyes were ruby red, the same black marks you saw on his back running beneath them, across his neck and down his back. And that was all you could see before Asriel’s expression began to quiver. It seems he can’t stand it when you look him in the eyes like that. That’s when an idea struck you.</p>
<p>“Do you enjoy staring at me like that?” You began, using an almost seductive tone, a devilish smile on your face, wide enough to rival the Cheshire cat, spreading on your face. “Looking at me like that while you’re still in your underwear? Undressing me with your eyes as you imagine all those lewd things we could do together?” you rolled over on your stomach, crawling towards the end of the bed, eyes locked onto an increasingly more nervous looking Asriel. “Maybe make me purr in your chest while we snuggle under the sheets? Or maybe you want me to show you that this kitty has claws?”</p>
<p>With that, all of your innocence was gone in a flash. Usually you would use this method to distract unsuspecting people so you can relieve them of their excess wealth. This time you just did it for your own amusement. And it was totally worth it. While you were nearly falling off the bed from laughter, Asriel began to turn beet red. First starting with his ears, before spreading across the entirety of his face like a wildfire.</p>
<p>You were never really bothered by jokes like this, in fact, you would play along for as long as you can to see just how far you could take things. Which was a lesson Asriel learned rather quickly, and perhaps a little painfully? He most certainly couldn’t get a coherent string of words out. </p>
<p>Instead of trying any further, he just grabbed his clothes and stormed into the bathroom to save himself from even more embarrassment.</p>
<p>During the minutes that followed you just sat on the bed you slept in and contemplated whether you took things a little too far.</p>
<p>More time passed, and Asriel stepped out of the bathroom again, freshly dressed and mostly composed again. There was still a hint of pink shining through the fur on his ears, but other than that he was calm again. </p>
<p>“Anyway, let’s go,” Asriel spoke in a semi composed manner as the tried to avoid keeping eye contact. “Oh, by the way. You might want to keep your cat parts hidden. We have a huge Otaku living here and the second she sees what you are she’ll be head over heels for you,” he warned you as he moved towards the door, pausing when he placed his hand on the handle. “Actually, there’s two of them.”</p>
<p>Great, exactly what you needed in life. Two crazy Otakus that will absolutely lose it when they see you. Not the first time you had to deal with that, but this time you can’t just beat them up. Though, maybe you shouldn’t beat up otakus in general. The last time you did that they said thanks.</p>
<p>“Well? You coming?” getting a little impatient, possibly because he was hungry himself, Asriel urged you to hurry up. “I still have to introduce you to the others.”</p>
<p>“You say it like it’s already settled that I’ll stay,” while Asriel certainly seemed hopeful that you could live here, you tried not to get your hopes up. Toriel didn’t seem particularly fond of you, so odds are you’ll be back on the streets by the end of the day.</p>
<p>“Don’t say that. Everyone living here is, at the very least a decent person. I doubt they’ll kick you back on the streets. Especially since you don’t have a place to call home.”</p>
<p>“Well, there is that one park I spend most of my time but…,” you tried to say something, but before you could finish your sentence Asriel just grabbed you by the hand and dragged you off the bed and out of the room.</p>
<p>“Why were you still sitting on that in the first place? Breakfast is downstairs,” Asriel chuckled as he dragged you along, refusing to let go of your hand.</p>
<p>With the prince just dragging you along as he ran down the hallway, you rapidly approach a set of ornate stairs leading downwards, the smell of today's breakfast already thick in the air. Or maybe that was just your superior sense of smell. Either way, something was cooking and it smelled delicious.</p>
<p>It was only shorty after that Asriel stormed through a door, entering the dining room and garnering the attention of everyone that was in it.</p>
<p>“Good morning, everyone,” he greeted in a sing-song voice, pulling you next to him as if to present you to everyone. </p>
<p>The eyes that were previously set on Asriel were now on you. Not that that was a surprise. It wasn’t every day the prince brought a complete stranger to the table. In fact, this was a first. </p>
<p>“Darling, your fashion sense is horrible. You dress like you’ve living on the streets. I really need to give you some lessons in fashion,” you didn’t even get a chance to take a proper look at everyone before one of the residents, a robot that looked like it was a prototype designed for very specific purposes, began talking in, what you wanted to call, a conceited tone. Though that wasn’t quite right. The offer seemed genuine and there was nothing malicious in the tone he used, if you could even call this robot a ‘he’. You really weren’t sure if the concepts of biology apply to robots so you just went with that. </p>
<p>And of course your clothes would look absolutely terrible. You can’t even remember the last time you got the chance to ‘borrow’ new ones. You were, literally living on the streets after all. Not that this robot guy could possibly know about that.</p>
<p>“Hey Punk!” a fish lady shouted towards you, a fire burning in her eyes. Well, her eye. The other one was covered by an eye-patch. “Ya new here?”</p>
<p>“This is ____,” Toriel decided to finally introduce you, something her son should’ve done the second after he nearly blew the door out of it’s hinges. “Asriel met him last night.”</p>
<p>“W-what’s wrong with his e-e-eyes?” another monster, a lizard lady with a very nasal sounding voice, stammered. “T-they look like they b-belong to a c-cat.”</p>
<p>“It’s a genetic disorder,” feeling as if she was already onto you, you blurted out the most logical response you could come up with.</p>
<p>“Has anyone seen Sans and Papyrus?” Asriel, having seemingly picked up on the fact that the others were already suspicious of you, decided to change the topic. </p>
<p>Now, it’s been a couple years since you escaped the lab, but you were fairly certain both of those names were fonts. You do remember one of the so called ‘researchers’ complaining to an underling that the use of comic sans in research notes was strictly prohibited and failure to comply will result in immediate termination. In the most literal sense of the word.</p>
<p>“SANS, HURRY UP LAZYBONES! WE’RE LATE FOR BREAKFAST! AGAIN!” an obnoxiously loud voice boomed from behind you, making you flinch and your ears ring as they shot up. </p>
<p>“He’s a NEKO!” and there was the voice of that lizard lady again, followed by the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching you. That much for keeping that little detail a secret for the time being.</p>
<p>“Well, fuck,” you quietly whispered to yourself, fully aware of what was about to happen next.</p>
<p>“Can I touch your ears?” a pleading voice reached your ears, as the lizard tried to reach up to you in vain. She was, at best, half your height and as such failed to reach the ears she desired to touch so much.</p>
<p>“YOU are already taken,” you watched as the fish lady just picked up the lizard and carried her back to her seat. All the while the lizard just mumbled an incomprehensible string of words and whines.</p>
<p>Just as thing began to settled down again, the door flung open once more and a pair of skeletons entered the room.</p>
<p>“HELLO EVERYONE! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WISH EVERYONE A…”</p>
<p>There it was again, that loud and obnoxious voice. Only difference now is that it was right next to you. And it was loud, like a bomb went off next to you. Then, there was a sudden silence, or maybe that Papyrus guy just blew you eardrums. </p>
<p>“What’s the matter bro? Cat got your tongue,” nope, you’re not deaf. Simply going by the fact that you could hear another voice talking.</p>
<p>“SANS, I THOUGHT YOU KNOW THAT I DO NOT HAVE A TONGUE,” wonderful. This Papyrus guy was not only louder than a jet engine, he also didn’t understand idioms. Not that any of that mattered. The relentless, auditory assault was bringing you to tears. “I WAS MERELY SURPRISED TO SEE ANOTHER HUMAN!” why, just why did this skeleton guy feel the need to keep talking?</p>
<p>“Uhm, Papyrus?” Asriel called out to the skeleton, his soft voice easing some of the pain the skeleton has caused your ears. “Could you please keep your voice down? ____ has very sensitive ears. And, well, he’s almost crying.”</p>
<p>“Of course, little prince,” you couldn’t believe it. The skeleton was capable of not sounding like a cannon shot all the time. “I, am the Great Papyrus,” the skeleton motion to himself in a grand fashion. “And this is my lazy brother Sans,” he then pointed the shorter skeleton next to him.</p>
<p>“Sup,” the smaller skeleton spoke, extending a boney hand for a handshake. </p>
<p>You carefully eyed the skeleton’s hand, spotting something suspicious in his boney palms. </p>
<p>“Is that a whoopee cushion?” you raised an eyebrow at the skeleton in front of you, pointing at the suspicious object he held.</p>
<p>“Heh, heh, heh,” Sans let out a forced chuckle as he retreated his offer for a handshake. “Didn’t realize I had that one on me.”</p>
<p>“I already hate you,” you just glared at the skeleton as you made your stance towards him unmistakably clear.</p>
<p>Sans simply shrugged off your comment, assuming you would warm up to him sooner or later. You won’t. </p>
<p>With everyone finally assembled and seated, with you taking occupying the chair to Asriel’s right, breakfast could finally begin. Though it appeared the goat teen had different plans.</p>
<p>“Everyone, I’d like to properly introduce you to ____,” he began talking in an almost grandiose fashion, as if he was introducing his friends to the most important person in the universe. </p>
<p>“Asriel, please. This can wait until after breakfast,” Toriel interjected, her motherly tone holding a certain sense of sternness within it. “____ needs to eat, then you can introduce him.”</p>
<p>Asriel pouted, having just received a damper to his eagerness. He really wanted to introduce you to everyone at the table. But Toriel had a point. You were practically starving and, frankly put, not in the mood to be put on a pedestal so everyone can gawk at you and your amazing, feline features. </p>
<p>What you were in the mood for was food and there was a lot too choose from. Bacon, eggs, pancakes, toast with plenty of different types of jam and so much more. For some reason there also was a box of colorful paper scraps called Temflakes. You had no idea what that was, though you did hear about this ‘edible paper’ thing. You couldn’t believe the sheer variety of food that was presented to you and you were ready to just pile a little bit of everything onto your plate, until it finally hit you. That beautiful smell Salmon, lightly cooked to perfection. You eyes grew wide and you swear you could hear it call out to you. Before you, or anyone else could realize it, the salmon has swapped plates and was now sitting in front of you in all it’s wonderful glory.</p>
<p>“Kid’s got a good appetite for someone his size.”</p>
<p>“H-he looks like he hasn’t eaten a proper meal in days.”</p>
<p>Those words that were thrown into the room went unheard by you. There was this gaping hole in your stomach and only glorious salmon could fill it. Even if you were in the presence of royalty, manners were secondary as you devoured the fish that was yours to begin with. Well, it wasn’t yours from a technical aspect, but you’ve been through a lot together. </p>
<p>Once your plate was empty, you leaned back into your chair, feeling a bit sluggish from all the food you stuffed yourself with. It was definitely unhealthy and you’ll probably never stuff yourself like that again. But this one time was totally worth it. Other than that, breakfast was rather uneventful.</p>
<p>With everyone having finished their meal, Toriel began to clear the table with the help of her son. In those few minutes, you earned a couple weird stares. Especially from the lizard lady and what you assumed to be her fish girlfriend. Was she mad at you for eating a decent chunk of the salmon? Well, you didn’t really get to dwell on that thought. Soon enough, Asriel plopped back down into his chair.</p>
<p>“Alright,” Asriel happily announced, finally ready to present his proposal to everyone. “This is ____. As you’ve probably noticed already, he’s a Neko…”</p>
<p>“WHAT IS A NEKO?” another thunderclap shook the room and you wanted to curl up again, hands covering your ears. Though this time, it does seem that Papyrus realized his mistake, and he quickly apologized.</p>
<p>“Well, I think Alphys can explain this a lot better than I could. Later, though,” the prince continued, redirecting his attention back to the group. “____, as you can see, is in pretty bad shape.</p>
<p>“Hey,” you protested against Asriel’s assessment. “Just because I lived on the streets for the past 7 years, doesn’t mean I’m in bad shape. Sure, I lost a lot of weight and probably need a shower and some proper hair care, but other than that I’m fine.”</p>
<p>The teen goat sighed in disbelief. He was trying to make a point here and you were just tearing it down.</p>
<p>“Anyway,” he continued, hopefully without interruption. “He’s homeless and I thought that, maybe, we can take him in?”</p>
<p>“Asriel, you are aware that this is a pretty big decision, so it must be unanimous,” Toriel decided to interject, dampening your expectations of finally finding a place to stay.</p>
<p>“Yes, mom. I know,” obviously, Asriel didn’t like this entire ‘unanimous decision’ thing, even though it was a sensible thing to do. “So, what does everyone think?”</p>
<p>“H-he can stay,” lizard lady agreed to letting you stay, very likely because of your feline features and the fact she is a massive otaku.</p>
<p>“Sure. We have more than enough space. The punk can stay,” fish lady agreed too, though you were pretty sure her reasons were not too dissimilar to lizard lady’s.</p>
<p>“Of course he can stay. He clearly needs our help and helping someone in need, especially someone this adorable, will definitely boost my popularity,” adorable, why was it you always flushed bright red whenever someone used that word, or any variation of it, to describe you? You were not cute, you were an urban tiger. Well, at least the robot agreed to let you stay. He’s a conceited prick though.</p>
<p>“I, THE GREAT…” you once again flinched at the sound of the yelling skeleton’s voice. “Ah, my apologies. I the great Papyrus agree that we should let him stay.”</p>
<p>He might be loud, but at least Papyrus was on board too.</p>
<p>“Fine by me,” Sans didn’t seem to have any objections either, or maybe he just didn’t care. All that really matters is that he agreed to let you stay.</p>
<p>That left only one monster left.</p>
<p>“So, what do you think, mom?” Asriel was giving his mother the puppy eyes, pouting slightly.</p>
<p>“Of course he can stay. I can’t send someone in need back to the streets,” much to your surprise, Toriel actually agreed and you could already feel the tears well up in your eyes. “I think I should also apologize to you, about last night. I was simply worried for Asriel’s wellbeing, especially after everything that happened.”</p>
<p>You had no idea what she was talking about, and it was none of your business either. All that mattered was the fact that everyone agreed to let you stay, meaning you finally had a place to call home.</p>
<p>“That settles it,” convinced everything was finalized, Asriel placed an arm around your shoulder. “____ is part of the family now.”</p>
<p>This is really happening, isn’t it? After all these years spend on the run you finally found a home, a place where you were safe. You could feel tears running down your cheeks as you began to sob, overwhelmed by this act of kindness.</p>
<p>“Aren’t you forgetting someone, Asriel?” you nearly chocked on a breath that got trapped in your throat when Toriel said those words. All joy replaced immediately with thoughts of fear and terror. There was someone else?</p>
<p>“Really mom? You and I both know that Frisk is the last person to say no,” Asriel could only roll with his eyes, perhaps even a little offended that his mother would crush your hopes as brutally as she just did.</p>
<p>Toriel remained firm, despite knowing fully well that Frisk would likely agree to letting you stay.</p>
<p>“Fine, I’ll text them real quick,” the next few moments were spend in a fear inflicted daze. All you could hear was the clacking of claws against the phone’s screen, a flash of light followed by more clacking noises.  </p>
<p>You didn’t know what was going at all. All you did know is that you wanted to break down crying.</p>
<p>“Hey, ____, are you alright?” you could feel Asriel’s hand on your shoulder, his concerned voice hitting your ears. “It’s alright, no need to worry anymore,” you looked up at Asriel with tears still in your eyes, but with a sense of hope slowly returning once you saw the bright smile that spread across his furred face. “Frisk gave their okay, you really are a part of the family now.”</p>
<p>That’s it, the floodgates are open now and you break down into a crying mess, tears of joy freely running down your cheeks in a downpour as you began sobbing and laughing at the same time. Probably a really ugly sight to behold, and most definitely not cute, but you just couldn’t hold it back anymore. After more than half a dozen years you finally found that one thing you were lacking ever since the day you were created. A place of safety and stability. A home you could live in without having to be afraid of being send back to where you came from.</p>
<p>“T- thank you, everyone,” speaking was more than just difficult, especially if the world around you was a blurry mess from all the tears in your eyes. “I… I don’t know what to say. I… I just… All of this…” you simply couldn’t get out those words you wanted to say. You didn’t even know what to say at this unbelievable gesture of kindness and compassion. Instead you just threw your hands around Asriel, hugging him tightly. Nothing of this would’ve been possible without him. He was surprised at first, but quickly returned the hug.</p>
<p>It took you several minutes to finally compose yourself to a point where your own thoughts were finally coherent again. Once you finally gathered yourself again, you let go of the monster and turned around to the rest of the group, a big smile on your tear stained face. “Thank you, everyone. From the bottom of my heart. This means so incredibly much to me,” your voice, while thankful,  was still shaky, perhaps even a little hoarse from all the crying, but you managed. “Well, I think I should properly introduce myself. I’m ____ and I couldn’t be happier to meet you.”</p>
<p>First to approach you was that weird robot guy, greeting you in that exaggerated TV star voice: “Hello beautiful, I am Mettaton. But I’m sure you already knew that. After all, I am quite famous.”</p>
<p>No, no you did not know who he was. Mainly because you don’t listen to gossip and never really cared about those big TV personalities in the first place. Despite that, you still shook his hand.</p>
<p>The next person to walk up to was the small lizard lady, bearing an awkward expression as she began speaking: “I- I’m Alphys. I h-hope I didn’t make you feel too uncomfortable earlier.”</p>
<p>Well, she didn’t make things terribly awkward, though she didn’t make things better either. In your eyes, everything was good. A quick handshake later, and the fish lady was standing in front of you. Or rather, she was kneeling so she could match your height.</p>
<p>“’Sup, I’m Undyne,” she clearly was one of the more energetic residents here, just judging by her tone alone. </p>
<p>You whimpered slightly as she gave you hand a, what she thought to be, light squeeze. Any harder and you’re hand probably would’ve been shot to hell.</p>
<p>Toriel was the only person left for a proper introduction, seeing that skeletons have already rushed ahead with their introduction. Though, did she really need to introduce herself? </p>
<p>“I think I do need to apologize again,” Toriel began, her voice conveying a genuine sense of guilt. “I was only being careful because I didn’t know If I could trust you. But it was wrong of me to be suspicious of you. I realized that when I saw your reaction,” she paused for a moment, looking at you with motherly concern. “I would like to extend my deepest apologies towards you. You are part of the family now and I will do everything in my power to make sure you’re safe.”</p>
<p>You could feel tears willing up in your eyes again and simply gave Toriel a big hug in response, which she quickly returned. No matter how big of a part Asriel played in this entire thing, if it wasn’t for Toriel you’d be back on the streets again, fighting to survive. And even more important, fighting so you wouldn’t have to go back to <em>that</em> place. After a moment, you broke away from the hug, only to have Toriel ruffle the hair on your head.</p>
<p>You still couldn’t really believe it. A place you could call home, with monsters that care about you. It was like all of your dreams came true at once.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Labyrinth Called Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Once all the commotion died down again and you had your chance to calm yourself, Asriel decided to garner your attention by not so subtly tapping you on the shoulder.</p><p>“What are you going to do now?” the curious teen looked at you with a big smile.</p><p>“Take a shower,” you replied without even thinking about. “It’s been way too long since I had the chance to take a proper one. Say, you don’t happen to have any clothes I could borrow for the time being?”</p><p>Asriel didn’t even get a chance to reply because a certain robot decided that this would be the perfect time to inject his professionally unprofessional opinion into the conversation.</p><p>“Oh darling, I have the most perfect clothes for you. I can already see it,” Mettaton began his ramble about fashion and how he knew how to clothe you in a way that would perfectly capture all of your charm. “A stylish pair of baggy jeans, a casual hoodie, a matching pair of sneakers. Darling, you will be turning heads left and right as the embodiment of the urban spirit…”</p><p>You have already tuned out of his ramblings. On an excitement scale between “watching grass grow” and “forgetting your parachute while skydiving” Mettaton’s ramblings about fashion were about as riveting as sitting in math class, counting seconds while staring at the clock. Now if he would only catch on to your disinterest and finally shut up.</p><p>“I’m sure ____ really appreciates the offer but he has a lot going on in his mind right now,” the fluffy monster prince heroically blocked any further assaults by Mettaton’s verbal tranquilizer, saving your brain from the mindless chatter that were his fashion ramblings. “I’ll just lend him some of my clothes for now. We can buy him his own later this week.”</p><p>Having said his piece, Asriel took a few steps towards the door, expecting you to follow. You, without skipping a single beat, did just that and followed him back upstairs and to his room. </p><p>Once the door was closed, the caprine began to rummage through his closet in search for clothes that you could wear and promptly handed his findings to you. A pair of underwear that nobody was going to see anyway and a fairly standard pair of jeans. Both were clearly designed for monsters with tails, judging by the extra hole they came with. This was a game changer. No more tail cramps because you had to stuff it inside your pants.</p><p>After a little more searching, Asriel pulled a hoodie out of the closet.</p><p>“This might be a little too big for you. It definitely is for me,” Asriel let out a somewhat awkward chuckle as he handed the hoodie to you. “I hope you don’t mind the print. I thought it looked cool and bought it on impulse without even trying it on.”</p><p>You carefully looked over the article of clothing that you were handed. It certainly looked like it was a size or two too big for you. The print was quite fancy though. It reminded you of that one time in the city where you were passing by an electronics store. They had several TVs on display, all of them showing a slideshow of different nebula images to show off how vibrant the colors they could display were.</p><p>Thanks,” you shot a smile towards Asriel. “I actually quite like the print.”</p><p>The monster replied with a content hum, happy you shared his enthusiasm.</p><p>“So, is there a shower in the bathroom?” you inquired, wanting nothing more than to just take a nice and refreshing shower after all that has happened in the past couple days.</p><p>Asriel nodded in response, his tone rather casual: “Yeah. Feel free to use whatever is in there. I’m sure Frisk won’t mind if you use their products. I certainly won’t mind if you use mine. Just be careful with my fur shampoo and conditioner. They’re quite expensive.”</p><p>Not wanting to waste anymore time, you gave Asriel an acknowledging nod and entered the bathroom. The room itself was of moderate size, with a large bathtub, and a rather spacious shower, a sink with a large mirror, as well as a cabinet for stuff like shampoo and showering gel. The room even had underfloor heating. You could lay down on the floor and take a nap without having to worry about getting cold. It was glorious.</p><p>Before taking off your clothes, you inspected the shower and its valves just to make sure you weren’t cooked in boiling water or turned into a Popsicle by accident. Fortunately for you, this shower wasn’t that complicated to operate. Turn the left valve to the left for the rain shower or to the right for the hand shower. Right valve was for temperature. Surely you would manage to master this shower without dousing yourself in scalding hot water, right?</p><p>Feeling confident, you turned on the rain shower and began to strip out of your old, well-worn clothes and tossed them into a neatly disorganized pile to either wash or trash later. Probably trash, it’s unlikely they’ll survive the washer without disintegrating into their subatomic particles.</p><p>This was the moment of truth, that one point in time that would reveal whether you truly mastered this shower or not. You carefully extended one leg into the shower until your toes hit the running water and… </p><p>You quickly recoiled again, your foot feeling like that one time you were running away after an unsuccessful attempt to swipe some surplus food from a market and slipping into a freezing cold river in the middle of winter. That probably was not only the worst experience of your life outside the facility, it was also the closest you ever came to dying outside of it. All in all, 2/10. Not something you would recommend.</p><p>This was just wonderful. Not only were you in your birthday suit, you also had to somehow reach the valve to turn up the temperature without being bombarded by the million tiny icicles that were falling from the shower head. </p><p>You took a deep breath, closed your eyes and punched through the stream of liquid ice, firmly grasping the valve and turning it to the right, gritting your teeth as the cold water felt like it was coating your arm in a sheet of ice. Who in their right mind takes showers this cold anyway? Does this person not fear death? Well, technically speaking there is only one other person that would use this shower but Asriel doesn’t look like the type of person, or rather monster, to take a bath in arctic waters. Was this revenge for earlier this morning? If so, well played, Asriel. </p><p>But the time of freezing cold water was over. Instead, the shower head now released a constant stream of liquid fire, making you hiss in pain. If that wasn’t bad enough already, the valve you were holding on to was quickly heating up too, prompting you to yank the valve to the left again, bringing back the cold water again. After some more yanking back and forth you finally found the blissful middle between “liquid nitrogen” and “literal lava”. </p><p>It took you a moment, but you could finally take that relaxing shower you craved so much. Which was a good thing. The underfloor heating might be turned on, but that doesn’t mean you won’t start freezing when you’re just standing there in the nude. Unless you lay down but that would be kind of weird. That reminded you. Did you lock the door? You shrugged it off. Asriel knew you were taking a shower. Surely he wasn’t just going to barge in. Right?</p><p>Standing underneath the warm and soothing downpour of water was, by far, the most relaxing thing you have done in a long time and you could finally feel how all the stress and tension from the past years was slowly fading away. You still couldn’t believe it. That you were safe, had a roof over your head and people that seem to genuinely care about you. After everything that happened it all just felt so surreal, as if it was nothing more than a dream you would just wake up from.</p><p>You spend roughly thirty minutes in the shower, soaking up water, massaging shampoo into your hair and fur, deep cleaning all those hard to reach places and finally rinsing everything off again. But every good thing had to come to an end, especially since you were starting to turn into a human sized raisin. </p><p>Stepping out of the shower again, you grabbed a fresh towel and began to dry yourself off while looking yourself over in the mirror. That’s when a shocking realization hit you. Your body was in much worse shape than you thought at first. You could almost see your ribs and had small cuts and bruises all over your body. It was a miracle you were doing as good as you were health wise. </p><p>Unable to stand the sight of your current state, you quickly began to put on the clothes Asriel gave you. As predicted, the hoodie he gave you was extremely soft and comfortable to wear. The fact that it was a little too big for you, only made you love it even more. The only real problem was the fact that the jeans he gave you didn’t quite fit. They were long enough but a little too wide, which caused it to only be kept in place by your tail, causing a significant amount of discomfort. You’ll ask Asriel for a belt later.</p><p>Now that you were dressed, there was only one thing left to take care of. Brushing the mess that was your hair. Not that brushing it would end up helping much. You probably had to get a haircut. That wasn’t going to stop you from trying to tame the beast that has taken residence on your head though. So you firmly grasped your weapon of choice. A hairbrush specifically designed for long hair. The whole thing seemed a little weathered, a sign of the many battles it has fought before. Some of the spokes were missing and strands of white fur were tangled between the spokes that weren’t lost yet.</p><p>With your weapon in hand you challenged the chaos that was your hair. It might be a losing battle but with the help of the mirror, you’d try your darndest to at least weaken the beast enough to make yourself look presentable again.</p><p>Until you hands pushed aside strands of messy hair that covered the back of your neck. </p><p>You froze, dropping the brush with a loud thud. In the mirror, you could see it. A series of letters and numbers, chiseled into your skin with black ink. M-T04-0126. Your designation, your serial number, your identity and a permanent reminder of your past.</p><p>You could feel you heart starting to race, blood running cold as your surroundings began to blur. The luxurious marble tiles fading into gray, lifeless concrete. The once warm floor now feeling cold and hard. A barrage of noises began to assault you ears. Anger fueled screaming, desperate cries, a loud slap, then silent sobbing. You were back, back in this nightmare that was life at the facility. </p><p>No, you weren’t back. You never truly left. You just woke up from the blissful dream of a better life. This place, there was no escape from it. Even if you managed to leave, it would also be with you.</p><p>Out, you had to get out. You wanted to run, but the moment you took the first step you could feel you could feel cold, unforgiving steel dig into your chest, forcing the air out of your lungs as you fell to the freezing ground amidst the sound of rattling chains. </p><p>Dazed, you began to frantically look around the cramped holding cell that were used as living quarters. There were at least 50 others like you, all chained down to the floor and with a broken, listless expression on their face. Nobody would even look in your direction. They’d just sit on the cold floor, eyes glued to the floor in a catatonic trance. </p><p>This was it. Sooner or later, you’d be like them. Without will, without fight, just waiting until you’d eventually be sold off to the highest bidder so you can serve the purpose you were specifically created for. You could feel yourself choke on this disgusting feeling of hopelessness. </p><p>Free, you just wanted to be free from his hellhole.</p><p>“____? Is everything alright?” knocking, loud, booming almost, reached your ears and a concerned voice began to call out to you. It began to slowly drag you out of your stupor. Warmth began to seep back into your body, which you never realized has collapsed on the floor. </p><p>Feeling breathless, you slowly came back to reality as things returned to what they were supposed to be. </p><p>Scrambling back to your feet you stumbled towards the door, legs feeling like they were made out of jelly. Reaching for the cold, metal handle of the door, hands still shaky, and opened it. As expected, Asriel was standing in the doorway with worry on his face. His expression only deepened once he saw how distraught you looked.</p><p>“Are you alright? You look a little shaken,” the monster spoke with a caring softness to his voice.</p><p>“Yeah,” you lied straight to Asriel’s face. “Just feeling how the past is catching up to me,” you added a little truth to your lie.</p><p>The goat raised an inquisitive eyebrow, seemingly wanting some answers.</p><p>“I was just surprised when I saw myself in the mirror,” another bit of truth, though still a lie by omission. You needed to change the topic and you already knew how. “Anyways. Do you have a belt lying around somewhere? Those jeans are a little too wide for me and my tail’s kind of starting to hurt already.”</p><p>“It’s not my fault I got my mother’s hips,” the prince blurted out without a second thought, only realizing what he said once he could no longer take those words back. “I mean, yes. There should be one lying around somewhere.”</p><p>A puzzled look began to take over your face. All you asked for was a belt and Asriel starts taking about genetics? Whatever it was that was going on in his mind was really none of your business, though it did raise some concerns. You just stepped out of the bathroom, holding up your pants to ease the weight that was resting on your tail, and sat down on the bed you were sleeping in last night. </p><p>“Where did I put that damn thing?” you could hear your monster friend curse underneath his breath as he turned his wardrobe upside down in search of a belt. “I know I put it somewhere.”</p><p>Maybe you should point out that he was currently wearing a belt: “Ehm, Asriel?” </p><p>“Sorry ____, I was sure I had a belt in here somewhere,” Asriel turned around, not only revealing his apologetic face but also the absolute mess that has become his wardrobe. “All I managed to find is a bunch of my old, striped shirts and sweaters.”</p><p>“Any chance you’re wearing a belt right now?” you asked, though it sounded closer to stating a fact.</p><p>“What?” the monster looked down and, quite literally, facepalmed. “Ugh, I’m such an idiot.”</p><p>You could agree with that, but decided not to comment.</p><p>“Hold on,” having realized something, Asriel shot you an accusatory glare. “Does that mean you were staring at my butt?”</p><p>You decided not to comment on that either. </p><p>The caprine stomped closer to you, looking upset. Or rather, trying to look upset.</p><p>“Are you done faking being angry?” seeing that Asriel was trying to put up an act, you decided to simply call him out for it.</p><p>“I AM mad,” he reaffirmed, stomping his foot like a toddler.</p><p>“No you’re not,” you deadpanned, looking him straight in his emerald eyes.</p><p>“Well, maybe not THAT mad,” and his facade already began to crumble away as he fell into silence. He knew perfectly well that you weren’t staring.</p><p>“Great,” you stood back up, hand holding your pants in place. “Seeing that you’re the one with the belt on, I guess I need to go ask someone else.”</p><p>“Hold on,” for some reason, Asriel started to remove the belt from his pants. </p><p>“You don’t need to give me yours. I’m sure there is another one somewhere in this house,” you declined his offer, partly because you didn’t want to see how his pants would just slip off him. Sure, you’ve already seen him in just his boxers. But boxers and sweater just felt different for some reason.</p><p>“It’s alright. I don’t even know why I’m wearing a belt. I don’t even need one,” he justified, giving you a reason to mimic his earlier gesture and move your palm of your hand towards your forehead at increasing velocity. <br/>“Thanks,” you sighed, taking the belt from Asriel’s hands and, after a little bit of fidgeting with your fingers, managed to get it through all the belt loops.</p><p>“Asriel, is ____ with you?” Toriel was knocking at the door, seemingly looking for you.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m in here,” you decided to reply in Asriel’s stead, seeing that it would make the upcoming conversation a lot less awkward. </p><p>“Wonderful,” the mother happily exclaimed and you could swear you heard how she clapped her hands together. “How about I show you around the house?”</p><p>Maybe you should open the door so you could speak to Toriel directly.</p><p>“Sure,” you greeted her with a smile, ready to get to know your new home.</p><p>Toriel hummed a content tune and took you by your hand, ready to show you around the mansion. Maybe the whole hand holding thing was a little bit overkill, but Toriel does seem like the overprotective type of mother. Which may or may not be a bad thing. </p><p>It probably is.</p><p>“This part of the mansion is mostly filled with various guestrooms. Every once in a while we invite visitors from all over the globe to discuss the progress made regarding the integration of monsters into human society,” the mother began to rattle down an explanation that sounded like she rehearsed it multiple times before. “While integration has been working fine in most places, some countries and cities are still struggling.” </p><p>There was a moment of silence while Toriel lead you further down the hallway, the only thing you could hear being the sound of Toriel’s and your own footsteps.</p><p>“Of course political discussions aren’t the only reason we welcome visitors,” the, you assumed to be, ex-queen of monsters spoke up again, sounding a little less stiff this time. “Once a year we welcome a small group of people to compete for Asriel’s favor.”</p><p>She’s welcoming people to compete for Asriel’s favor? Like those tacky TV shows where one girl get to chose between a bunch of cookie cutter guys with the same face, all of which have the personality of a coked up monkey? Or is it the other way around, where the guy with the cookie cutter face and a bachelors degree gets to choose between a bunch of plastic barbies that spend most of the time screaming at each other?</p><p>“I still can not believe that Asriel hasn’t found his special someone yet. So far, he turned down every single girl he has met,” it appears that Toriel couldn’t understand that there are guys that simply have no interest in girls. “He doesn’t even show interest in Frisk, despite everything they have done for him.”</p><p>Hold up. What? Is Toriel seriously expecting Asriel to develop romantic feelings for his adoptive sibling?</p><p>“Isn’t Frisk your adopted child, making them Asriel’s adoptive sibling?” you asked for clarification, refusing to believe what Toriel just suggested.</p><p>“Yes, they are,” she nonchalantly confirmed. Sure, Asriel and Frisk are only siblings by paper but that still doesn’t completely erase the weirdness factor. </p><p>“Have you considered that there is a chance Asriel simply isn’t interested in girls?” beating around the bush wasn’t really an option here, but you couldn’t just beat Toriel over the head with the suggestion that Asriel might prefer other boys either.</p><p>There was no response to that. Instead, Toriel just lead you past even more guestrooms until you were approaching a set of stairs that connected this floor to the ones that were above and below. She lead you upstairs to yet another, giant floor. You’re probably going to need a map to navigate this place.</p><p>“This floor is, what Asriel likes to refer to as, the gaming floor. Everything, ranging from retro arcade machines, to the most modern hardware on the market can be found here,” the speech Toriel seemed to have rehearsed so much continued, though there was an insecure tremble slowly emerging in her voice. “Of course this floor also offers various other ways to pursue your hobbies or even discovers new ones. It’s also where our lounge is located, offering darts and billiards as well as a wide selection of non alcoholic drinks and cocktails, all prepared and served by the undergrounds best barman.</p><p>You actively had to suppress the urge to sigh. This was more and more starting to feel like she was treating you like one of those girls that would visit so Asriel could reject them. You’ll just have to suck it up for now and tag along while Toriel showed the impressive collection of digital entertainment media. The latest games, movies, consoles, and hardware. How much money does this family have? Well, they are royalty but do they really have that many liquid assets to burn?</p><p>While you were following Toriel she decided to bring up another topic, one you didn’t even know you were dreading: “Seeing that you now have a proper roof above your head you will be joining Asriel in high school once vacation is over.”</p><p>“Do I HAVE to?” school, the mention alone was enough to make you groan. You knew how to write, do math, how to talk to people and how to read them, as well as a little about biology, and chemistry. And to top it all off, you even knew things no school will teach. Like survival tactics, parkour, and lock picking. Basically, all the stuff that allowed you to survive for so long.</p><p>“Why, of course. While I don’t doubt that life on the streets has taught you a lot, there still is a lot for you to learn. Maybe you’ll even make new friends,” for some reason, Toriel seemed excited about sending you to a different type of hell. “Besides, I think Asriel will appreciate going to school with a friend.”</p><p>“Does he not have any friends?” you carefully inquired, fearing that you might step on her toes by accident.</p><p>“Unfortunately no, he doesn’t” Toriel heaved a disheartened sigh. The fact her son has yet to make friends at school seemed to be yet another thing that bothered her. “I’m worried for his future. He hasn’t made any friends and rejected every girl I introduced him too.”</p><p>Wait, what? Does that mean that she chooses who Asriel is and isn’t allowed to meet up with? </p><p>“I don’t meant to rude by asking this but…” you paused for a moment to try and find a way you could phrase this without sounding like too much of an accusatory asshole. “Do you arrange who Asriel can and can not meet?”</p><p>“Of course,” much to your own worry, Toriel sounded like this was a completely normal and acceptable thing to do. “It’s a mother’s duty to keep her child safe after all.”</p><p>You were pretty sure that her actions will have the complete opposite effect of what she hopes.</p><p>“Maybe that’s the reason he hasn’t found anyone yet,” feeling like you should point out the obvious, you decided to voice your thoughts. “Instead of dictating who he can and can not see, you should let him figure things out himself? Let him spread his wings, you know?”</p><p>“Absolutely not,” almost taking offense to what you said, the mother immediately shot your suggestion down. Her face spoke a different language though, as if she knew what she was doing was wrong. “He did that once and it ended in a complete disaster. He has proven that he can’t make the right decisions when it comes to friends. So I have to choose who he can be friends with and who he can’t.”</p><p>Great, Toriel was a helicopter parent. What was she even talking about when she said Asriel had proven he can’t make the right calls? You were probably going to ask him directly when the time is right. There was one thing that did make you wonder, though. If Toriel is being so overly cautious, then why did she let you stay? Best not to ask too many of those question, lest she changes her mind and sends you back to the streets.</p><p>As Toriel lead you further through the mansion, pointing out the various other hobby rooms, such as the atelier or the library that were on this floor, you eventually reached a set of heavy looking double doors. There was a display next to it, showing the names of everyone that lives here. Yours was already added.</p><p>“This is our home theater,” pushing the doors open, Toriel revealed the interior. And it was huge. Numerous, cushioned seats, remote controlled lights, a surround sound system and a huge screen. They even had snack machines for cotton candy and popcorn. “Every last Friday of the month, we come together as a family and watch a movie together. The display outside shows who chooses the movie,” she added, a bright smile on her face. It appears that this was something she particularly enjoyed. “Of course you are free to use this place outside of that.”</p><p>The tour through the house was slowly coming to an end as Toriel showed you the last section that was worth mentioning. An entire home gym on the ground floor, complete with everything the sporty heart could desire. You assumed that this is the place Undyne spends most of her time at, seeing that she was currently pumping iron. Not that you could call it just iron anymore at this point. She was lifting anchors like they were nothing.</p><p>The piscine monster took note of your presence, judging by the toothy grin she was shooting at you.</p><p>“Hey punk, ya here for a workout?” she yelled, because of course she would yell, despite being aware that your ears did not appreciate getting yelled at.</p><p>You simply shook your head in response, keeping a much more level headed tone than she does: “Nah. Toriel’s just showing me around the mansion. Maybe another time.”</p><p>Undyne set her weights down for a moment just to give you a shrug, her voice sounding almost disappointed: “Suit yourself.”</p><p>You were about to turn back to Toriel, awaiting the next destination of this tour, when something else caught your attention. There was another room that connected to the gym and through the doorway you could see some rather interesting light refraction. It was moving in an almost wave like manner, which probably meant there was water nearby. Do they have some sort of indoor pool too? </p><p>With your curiosity awakened, you decided to investigate only to freeze the moment you passed through the door.</p><p>In front of you was, indeed, an indoor pool. Or rather a set of pools, complete with a ceiling of reinforced glass. Perfect for a quick swim in the moonlight. You were absolutely going to swim a couple laps here, maybe even ask Asriel to join you. Even if it’s just for splashing each other with water in the shallow pool. They even placed sun loungers on, what you assumed, to be artificial lawn. For some reason they made it possible to enjoy the outside without actually going outside. Perfect for the more socially averse person.</p><p>“I see you discovered our pool,” it appears Toriel caught up with you. </p><p>You could only nod in response. This place was absolutely amazing. All you needed to do now was to not fuck everything up and end back up on the streets.</p><p>“Let us continue, there still is one more place I’d like to show you,” yet another location Toriel wanted to show you? What’s next? Their own candy factory?</p><p>Leaving the gym behind, Toriel began to lead back to the main hall. Something about her seemed different though. She seemed to sink more and more into thought, reflecting on what she told you and how you reacted to it. </p><p>The whole walk back was quiet. No recited explanations, no small talk. Nothing. Just silence. And you couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about that. On the other hand though, you only had Asriel’s best interests in mind. Much like Toriel did. </p><p>Leading you past the main hall, Toriel approached another flight of stairs leading downwards. </p><p>“Down here, you will find Alphys’ lab. It’s where she spends most of her time. If you need help with anything technical you will likely find her down there,” starting to step down the stairs, Toriel presented the truly final part of her little tour. </p><p>“L-lab?” you stuttered in shock, feeling how your fight or flight response began to kick in. </p><p>“Indeed,” the mother has seemingly noticed the tremble in your voice and turned her head to face you. “Is something the matter?”</p><p>Heart pounding in your chest, you struggled to keep yourself together. Labs, you absolutely hated labs. Despised them with every fiber of your being. </p><p>“Could we, maybe, perhaps, if you don’t mind, skip this part?” weak, you began to feel weak all of a sudden as your voice started to fade into a whisper. </p><p>“Don’t be shy,” in an attempt to convince you, Toriel reached out for you, inviting you to take her hand. “I’m sure Alphys would love to show you around.”</p><p>As if THAT would make this any better. </p><p>“No, no thanks. I’m good. Really. No need to show me around the lab,” panic was coursing through your body, and you could feel that familiar twitch in your legs that was urging you to run away as fast as you could. No labs. No more labs. </p><p>“There is no reason to be afraid…” she continued in a soft voice and began to ascend the stairs again. </p><p>The very second she took a step upwards, you bolted. Running up the stairs, dashing across several hallways, up another set of stairs, and through even more hallways.</p><p>By the end of your mad dash your legs gave out and you keeled over, curling up into a fetal position and staying like that for god knows how long. Just, no labs. For the love of everything, no more labs.</p><p>Once your mind cleared up again, you inspected your new surroundings. Dark brown, laminate floor, polished to a bright shine. A regal looking wallpaper, accent tables and various, flower filled vases. Portraits of the Dreemurr family and their ancestors lined the walls. Judging by your gut feeling you’d guess this is a pretty important part of the mansion.</p><p>It all seemed so familiar yet different. You considered retracing your steps, but how were you supposed to do that if you can barely remember the directions you took? </p><p>You sighed in defeat. Barely a day has passed and you already got lost in your new home. Certainly something only you could’ve accomplished. Must be a new world record too. Was there some kind of medal for that?<br/>Another sigh left your throat. Were you seriously going to wallow is self-pity? Lament the fact you were a moron that had no idea what he was doing? All because Toriel wanted to show the lab? Your strong aversion to labs, as well as numerous other aspects, would certainly need to be addressed sooner rather than later. Right now, however, you needed to find your way back.</p><p>Your legs still felt like weak, but you forced yourself up nonetheless, supporting yourself on the walls with shaky breaths. Exhausted. You were completely exhausted after your nerves got the best of you for the second time today. It has always been like that.</p><p>This was no place to rest, however. You had to find your way back to the inhabited areas of this mansion. So you tried to use your feline senses, listening closely while smelling the air around you for anything that could help you find your way back.</p><p>Nothing. The only thing you could hear were ticking clocks behind some of the doors, accompanied by a faint smell of laminate polish. Seems like you had to find your way out of this labyrinth the traditional way.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If anyone has any idea what tags to possibly add to this, please let me know. I have no idea.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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